This invention relates to an axle assembly for supporting a heavy vehicle on a surface, and more specifically, the invention relates to load-bearing devices that reduce wear caused by scrub.
Heavy vehicles, such as a heavy duty lift truck typically utilize non-steerable assemblies that have a wheel assembly on each end of an axle housing. The wheel assembly includes a pair of wheels that are secured to one another. Utilizing multiple wheels on each end of the axle housing increases the load bearing capacity of the axle assembly. One drawback of using multiple wheels secured to one another on each end of the axle housing is an increase in tire wear from tire scrub. As the heavy vehicle negotiates a turn, the wheels on the inner radius of the turn travel a shorter distance than the wheels on the outer radius of the turn. Since the pair of wheels in a wheel assembly is secured to one another, they may only rotate at one speed. Furthermore, the wheels may not move in the direction of the turn on non-steerable axle assemblies. As a result, a portion of the wheels must be dragged, or scrub, during the turn which causes the tire to wear significantly. Increased tire wear requires more frequent tire maintenance and results in higher costs. Additionally, tires are difficult to dispose because of space constraints and environmental concerns. Therefore, what is needed is a load-bearing device that provides a high load bearing capacity axle assembly while reducing wear caused by scrub to the load bearing components.
The present invention provides an axle assembly for supporting a heavy vehicle on a surface. The axle assembly has an axle housing with opposing ends and a wheel supported on each of the opposing ends for engagement with the surface. Each of the wheels is rotatable about a rotational axis. A rotatable load-bearing device is supported on the axle housing for engagement with the surface. The load-bearing device is arranged between the wheels and is rotatable about a plurality of pivotal axes.
Accordingly, the above invention provides a load-bearing device that provides a high load bearing capacity axle assembly while reducing wear caused by scrub to the load bearing components.